Mumbai which is being battered by severe rainfall for more than two days, witnessed another tragic scenario as the winds picked up a mighty speed, reaching up to 107 km per hour by late evening. The cyclonic wind velocity and rain drew continuous heads-up from the city police and Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, who asked the people to stay indoors. Twitter was flooded with pictures and messages which gave glimpses of the damage, including tall cranes in the port area to roofs and sun shades flying off, overturned cars on roads and falling trees.
Three high capacity cranes stationed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in adjoining Raigad district disintegrated due to turbulent winds, there was no casualty, news agency Press Trust of India reported, quoting an official.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been in talks with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and assured all possible assistance, PM’s Office tweeted. Mr Thackeray’s Office said he has taken stock of the situation in Mumbai and adjoining areas and strictly instructed officials to be alert in view of the heavy rainfall predictions for the coming days as well.
On Wednesday evening, as per the meteorological department, the wind speed at Colaba increased to 107 km per hour. The weather department also predicted that extremely heavy rainfall is likely to sustain.
The National Disaster Response Force stated its teams are on stand-by at Nagpur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Thane, Kurla and Palghar for immediate response to disasters. Additional teams are kept in reserve and shall be called to action as per requirement.
“Requesting all to remain indoors. Mumbai is lashed with high velocity winds and extremely heavy rain as we all can witness. I request all, especially journalists trying to cover this to remain safe. Stay put wherever you are,” Mr Thackeray’s son and state minister Aaditya Thackeray tweeted.
While we’ve asked all to stay home, the police and urban/ rural local bodies staff are on streets and are braving the stormy rains.
Please stay home and stay put wherever indoors you are across the entire belt receiving rains— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) August 5, 2020
Crazy rains & winds in Mumbai, appeal to all to stay home, stay safe. https://t.co/T0Oi6kPT5L
— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) August 5, 2020
The Mumbai Police emphasized the message of safety.
“We request Mumbaikars to stay indoors and not venture out unless it’s extremely essential. Practice all necessary precautions and do not venture out near the shore or water logged areas. Please #Dial100 in any emergency. Take care & stay safe Mumbai,” they tweeted under hashtag #MumbaiRains.
Since 7 on Monday evening, torrential rains have made a landfall on the city. By the next 10 hours, the city had logged 230 mm of rainfall, making it the heaviest deluge since 2005, as per NDTV.
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